The Berg reading suggests that students don’t necessary get much out of their experience abroad because they do not take the proper steps to connect with the culture. Students feel like they need to defend their experience abroad and often make generic, unspecific statements like “it transformed me.” Berg argues that this isn’t true, and that students need to make a deeper and more thoughtful attempt to connect to the culture. He discusses the “Three Master Narratives.” The first two, positive and relativist, focus on more superficial connections, but the third, experimental/constructive, focuses on cultural mentoring. It is characterized by profound thoughtfulness and effort to become conscious of the other culture.

The Bennet reading contains a section that discusses upper-case culture and lower-case culture. Upper-case culture is a collection of the institutions that are associated with a group. For example, upper-case culture would include learning about the history and political structure of somewhere. While this information is valuable, it doesn’t necessarily give you the tools to communicate effectively. Lower-case culture is the nuanced behavior and beliefs that impact everyday life. I think that academic classes on culture don’t tend to focus on lower-case culture enough. It’s more difficult to detect and discuss because it’s not tangible the way that upper-case culture is. I think that one of the best ways to expose yourself to this sort of culture is to consume media (like television and movies) from these places.

 

 

I like Jennie’s point about the Berg reading, that his reasoning seems unnecessary and overly critical, and I liked your counter point that going abroad can be about the human experience. I think there are other valuable things that students gain from going abroad even if they don’t gain intercultural competencies. For example, students who study a language prior to going abroad tend to improve significantly while abroad. Also, it might help students gain independence. Since I’m from MA, I’ve never been too far from my family, even at Smith. I hope that going abroad will help me develop the tools to function independent from them. Suggesting that students aren’t worthy of going abroad unless they make significant strides in intercultural competence is absurd.